Retainer for sets of eyeletted articles



T. B. OBRIEN RETAINER FOR SETS OF EYELETTED ARTICLES Filed March 5, 1958 Nov. 21, 1961 INVENTOR. THOMAS B. O'BRIE? ATTORNEY United States Pate 3,009,223 RETAINER FOR SETS F EYELETTED ARTICLES Thomas B. OBrien, Qak Park, IiL, assignor to Fawicl; Flexi-Grip Co., a corporation of @hio Filed Mar. 3, 1958, Ser. No. 718,724 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-73) This invention relates to a device for retaining in assembled relation to one another eyeletted articles such as the covers commonly used for protecting the heads of golf clubs carried in a golf bag.

Its chief objects are to provide a device adapted to retain the covers in orderly spaced arrangement without being subject to the kinking or tangling that are characteristic of thongs or the like such as heretofore have been used as club-cover retainers; to provide a simple device adapted for easy mounting and removal of the covers in relation to it; and to provide an inexpensive, attractive and durable retainer.

Of the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a retainer strip embodying my invention in its preferred form.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a set of golf-club covers in association with the retainer shown in FIG. 1, a golf club having its head within one of the covers being shown, in broken lines.

FIG. 3 is an elevation, from line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevation, from the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

The device in its preferred form here shown comprises a molded strip of vulcanized soft-rubber or like material, preferably of circular cross-section throughout, and having at each of its ends a deformable head 11 adapted to be passed, with deformation of it, through the eyelet 12 of one or more of the covers 13, 13.

Preferably also the strip is formed, at positions spaced from its ends, with local enlargements 14, 214- for preventing undue bunching of a plurality of the eyelets 12., each enlargement being large enough to resist movement of an eyelet past it but of such size that by deformation it can be pulled through the eyelet. The enlargements 14 are spaced sufliciently to permit Wide freedom of movement of the eyeletted articles longitudinally of the retainer.

Each of the heads 11, at the respective ends of the strip, preferably is of outwardly tapered form in its base portion, 11a, to facilitate its being passed through an eyelet. Outwardly from its said tapered base portion it terminates preferably in a small-diameter pulling knob 11b, of such small size as to be passed freely through the eyelet and thu be available for the pulling engagement of the persons fingers.

The strip is sufliciently flexible to accommodate itself to the relative positions of the covers as determined by the golf clubs within them, as illustrated by its curved form in FIG. 2, but has sufficient flex-resistance to keep the covers in orderly arrangement whether or not the covers are all occupied by club heads. After use of a club in play it can be returned to the bag and its cover applied without difficulty or delay.

For economy the strip preferably is molded in the ice straight shape in which it is shown in FIG. 1, and is of sufliciently large crosssection to be form-retaining in its straight shape.

In the appended claims the word rubber is intended to be inclusive of both natural and synthetic substances having substantially the resilient deformability of vulcanized soft-rubber.

I claim:

1. A retainer for a set of eyeletted covers for golf club heads, said retainer comprising a strip of rubber adapted to be threaded through the eyelets of the covers and of sufficient length to support the covers in spaced relation, with integral terminal means at each end of the strip and integral separator means between the ends of the strip of larger cross-sectional area than the adjacent portions of the strip for retaining the covers in spaced relation thereon with wide freedom of movement longitudinally of the retainer, the cross-sectional areas of said terminal and separator means being reducible by stretching the retainer, with said terminal means at one end of the retainer adapted to be threaded through the eyelets of the respective covers, said strip being easily bent but having suificient resistance to flexing to be substantially non-kinking and being long enough to permit a number of eyeletted golf-club covers with the golf club heads therein to be retained in spaced relation therealong.

2. A retainer for a set of eyeletted articles, said retainer comprising a strip of rubber adapted to be threaded through the eyelets of the articles and of sufiicient length to support the articles in spaced relation, with terminal means at each end of the strip and separator means be tween the ends of the strip for retaining the articles in spaced relation thereon with wide freedom of movement longitudinally of the retainer, said strip being easily bent 'but having sufficient resistance to flexing to be substantially non-kinking, the terminal means at the opposite ends of the retainer being identical outwardly tapered elements with the outward ends each comprising a portion small enough to be passed through the eyelets and long enough to comprise a pulling element at the outer end thereof when passed through an eyelet, the whole of the retainer being asingle, integral piece of rubber circular in every cross section thereof with the terminal and separator means of larger cross-sectional area than the portions of the retainer between them, which latter portions are all of substantially the same cross-sectional area; said terminal and separator means being adapted to be forced through the eyelet-s only by reason of their becoming smaller when stretched.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,974,160 Peirson Sept. 18, 1934 1,974,499 Luce Sept. 25, 1934 2,025,960 Sindler Dec. 31, 1935 2,800,696 Aicher July 30, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 958,758 France Sept. 19, 1949 

